


Wizarding Culture: On Bloodline Abilities and Inheritance.

by CescaLR



Series: Wizarding History, Culture, And Random Shit (Like Laws And Stuff), As Told By Ronald Billius Weasley, Hogwarts Student. [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Wizarding Culture (Harry Potter), Wizarding Traditions (Harry Potter), Worldbuilding, not all of it's blood related (though a lot of it is, not all of what is is muggle v '''''pure'''''' though)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:14:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23610637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CescaLR/pseuds/CescaLR
Summary: A (somewhat) comprehensive (and informal) guide to magical abilities, bloodlines, and inheritance, and the cultural norms within the wizarding world regarding thus, alongside an investigation into the general beliefs within the population of Wizarding Britain regarding the nature of magical peoples' origins.Among other stuff.
Relationships: Hermione Granger & Harry Potter & Ron Weasley
Series: Wizarding History, Culture, And Random Shit (Like Laws And Stuff), As Told By Ronald Billius Weasley, Hogwarts Student. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1699474
Comments: 12
Kudos: 48





	1. Lesson One: Arranged Marriges.

**Author's Note:**

> why was Ron about as knowledgeable as a potato about the culture he lived in, JKR???? why did Hermione have to explain everything, JKR???? She read it all from a book, JKR! You can't understand nuances from a clinical reading, JKR!! Especially the stuff that's left out of books because the author is from the insular culture and assumes everyone reading already knows that stuff, JKR!!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breakfast is the best time to talk cultural understanding, apparently, according to Hermione Jean Granger.

Ron's not even sure how the topic came up.

"Look," He said, "Yeah. They're common. Not among most of _us -_ but among them lot; you know - the Malfoy's lot. 'Traditionalists'. Arseholes, to call it like it is."

" _Ron_ ," Hermione admonished, for his language, then - "But -" Hermione spluttered. "Arranged marriages are barbaric!"

"I'm not disagreeing," Ron said, affronted. "I never said _we_ did them, Merlin!"

"But they're culturally acceptable?" She persisted.

"To _some wizards,_ yeah," Ron stressed. "You're acting like muggles don't do the same thing!"

"Not that I know of," Harry offered, awkwardly. "Not for centuries."

"... Not quite true," Hermione allowed, conflicted over showing her wider knowledge versus winning the argument. "They're not exactly legal, but they happen in England."

"See!"

"That's not the point!" Hermione shouted back. "They're not exactly legal, Ron!"

"Why do you do it, anyway?" Harry asked.

"They," Ron said, "And - bloodline magic, you know. Like your parseltongue. 'S'not so common anymore, 'cause there are fewer abilities every year."

Hermione paused. "Pardon?" She said.

"You know," Ron said, shrugging. "Metamorphmagi are born that way, 'cause it's in their blood. Parseltongue is the same. There's some other stuff, but it's all really rare."

Ron plated some more bacon and resumed eating his breakfast.

Hermione sighed, explosively.

"Why?" She asked. "If the... _marriages_ are for 'spreading' the abilities, why are they _rarer,_ and not more prevalent?"

Ron shrugged. He didn't know _everything,_ Merlin's beard.

"It's the inbreeding," Parvati piped up, looking vaguely annoyed. "If they did what we did, marrying people with the ability from all over the globe and not just on this tiny island, the gene pool would be bigger. Magic doesn't like a small sample size."

Hermione blinked at the girl. Parvati raised an eyebrow at her, delicately.

"And," Parvati said, " _Try_ not to diss cultures you're not a part of, yeah?"

Parvati stood, and flounced off. Hermione scowled at her.

"Well, there you go," Ron said.

"The obsession with 'blood purity'," Hermione's nose wrinkled, "Interferred with the obsession with 'blood ability'?"

Ron nodded.

"Huh," Hermione said, and went back to reading her book - which, yes, that was how the conversation had started, now Ron remembered.

Well, whatever.

Ron went back to his bacon.


	2. Lesson Two: Bloodline Origins.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magic is weird. Where did it come from? Hermione asks questions Ron knows some of the answers to, and Harry reads his quidditch book, because frankly, the boy just doesn't care about this shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> vivi an I got to chatting about magical origins, here's some thoughts.

"Where does magic come from?" Ron repeated, bewildered. "Well - I mean - bloody hell, Hermione, give a bloke some warning."

"It's not that difficult a question," Hermione said, impatiently, tapping her quill against her paper. "I just realised I hadn't found a book in the library on the topic."

Ron rolled his eyes, mentally. Why on _earth_ would there be a book in the library on the topic? 

"It's not just a _topic,"_ Ron said, exasperated. "Hermione, it's a whole school of thought!"

Hermione frowned at him.

"Like, uh, the theory of evolution?" Harry asked.

"What's that?" Ron said. "Nevermind, look -"

" _What's evolution?"_ Hermione said, very loudly, and very shrilly.

"If it's some muggle theory," Ron said, pointedly, "I won't know much about it, will I? Doesn't matter, anyway. You want to know what I think about magic and where it came from, or not?"

"It's not _just some muggle theory,_ it's a fact that informs our collective knowledge of all history and how _humans as a species came to exist_ ," Hermione said, pained. But, still; Hermione's expression became suddenly vaguely constipated, like the decision to pursue understanding his lack of knowledge about 'the theory of evolution' versus learning more about the history of magic was an incredibly difficult one indeed.

"What, you mean how things changed over time to become what they are now?" Ron said, "That's not complicated. Magic... is kind of complicated."

Hermione made a noise of frustration, but nodded her head, slowly.

"Nobody really knows," He said, awkwardly. "There's some common ideas - humans got it from creatures 'bestowing' power on us, but that still doesn't tell you how magic _came to be._ We just don't know that."

"Bestowing?" Hermione frowned.

"Yeah," Ron said. "Like, Weasleys got our power from phoenixes, which is why all our hair is red, no matter what. Fire. Most families are associated with some... constant, like fire, ice, you know. Blacks always have black hair - Malfoys are always blonde."

"That's genetics," Hermione said, impatiently. "Genetic inheritance."

"Isn't red the least common hair colour, though?" Harry asked, frowning, having looked up from his copy of _Quidditch Throughout The Ages._

"... Yes," Hermione said, frowning. "It's recessive. Brown and Black are dominant hair colours - you're more likely to find people with those than red or blonde."

"Right," Ron said, not getting it. "Well, clearly, that's wrong. Look at us!" He gestured. "There are a _lot_ of redheads here, Weasley or otherwise."

"That's true," Hermione said, pondering. "I wonder why...?"

"Because of magic," Ron said, "Magical inheritance. The way we got magic, potentially, from powerful creatures, means there are some - common traits. Magical bloodlines. Red hair, links with fire. Phoenix bloodline."

"That doesn't make any _sense,"_ Hermione said, "I don't -" She made a _very_ frustrated noise, upset-sounding, and Ron felt... kind of bad, but there wasn't really anything he could do. People just didn't have the answers Hermione was looking for.

"Magic is magic," Ron said, helplessly. "Like things fall when you drop them - so long as they're not enchanted."

"That's the thing!" Hermione exploded, "That caveat? Magic breaks the laws of physics, and now apparently also the laws of _genetic science,_ and -"

"Hermione," Harry said.

"And -" Hermione sighed, loudly, frustration clear in her countenance.

"And you don't get it?" Harry offered, tilting his head, slightly. Hermione glared at him, upset.

"... Nobody else does," Ron offered, awkwardly.

"People in the muggle world figured out gravity," Hermione said. "Things fall because of _gravity._ If there are equations for gravity, why aren't there ones for magic?"

"I don't know," Ron said. "How would I know?"

Hermione's brows furrowed.

"Look, we've got a potions assignment due tomorrow," Ron said, trying to distract. "Could you look over mine?"

Hermione huffed. "You really shouldn't leave it this late," She said, accepting the distraction.

Harry went back to his book.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harry: Theory not for sport people. I am sport people.

**Author's Note:**

> Anyway, this is me doing Jake's job: Worldbuilding! Yay! My favourite pasttime!!!
> 
> (And I do mean that)
> 
> (These short little bits and pieces are to try and cure my boredom,,, and a little of my writer's block)


End file.
